


Descendants Of The Night:Book1: Blood Brothers

by GK7



Category: GOT7, JJ Project
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Blood and Injury, Human Im Jaebum | JB, Multi, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Sexual Content, Underworld, Vampire Park Jinyoung (GOT7), Vampires, Werewolves
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-11
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-13 13:15:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,756
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29154165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GK7/pseuds/GK7
Summary: "My name is Jinyoung. I'm an assassin, a lethal weapon in the war amongst the immortal descendants of The Great Father. Thirteen centuries ago, I used to be human. Now, I'm a Vampire. A Lycan hunter.They call me Death Slayer."
Relationships: Im Jaebum | JB/Park Jinyoung
Comments: 13
Kudos: 19
Collections: JJP Big Bang





	Descendants Of The Night:Book1: Blood Brothers

**Author's Note:**

> Check out the incredibly amazing cover art for this fic made by @hajizumz on  
> [twt](https://twitter.com/hajizumz/status/1359935542843080707?s=19)

* * *

My name is Jinyoung. 

I'm an assassin, a lethal weapon in the war amongst the immortal descendants of The Great Father. 

Legend says He took the Moon Goddess for his bride and the Sun Goddess for his lover. And thus birthed the two lines of the Blood Coven, one bitten by bat, one by wolf- Vampires and Lycans. 

Keepers of the Night and Day. Brothers, doomed to be at war until the end of time. 

A secret war that has been going on for centuries, unbeknownst to humans, marked by peace and chaos, allegiance and betrayal, death and destruction. Flesh and blood.

Ours and theirs. 

I kill lycans for a living. Ever since the assassination of the Supreme Alpha lycan JiaEr, at the hands of the greatest Blood Knight in existence, Choi Youngjae, this has been the sole purpose of my immortal second life - hunt the remaining Lycans down to the point of extinction. 

That and be mated to the oldest of the three Vampire Elders - first born son of The Great Father and the Moon Goddess, Viktor- for he is the one who turned me, nurtured me and brought me up as his own, fed me from his own sacred blood.

My future would be sealed when he is awakened from his deep slumber by the then ruling Elder - Marcus, the second son, at the turn of the next century. 

But things took an unexpected turn and my fate was entangled instead with that of a mere human. 

Lim Jaebeom. 

Or the fact that he wasn't, in fact, a mere human. 

For some reason, the Lycans wanted him. And everything the Lycans wanted, I wanted too. I was willing to annihilate entire covens to get to this human. 

Thirteen centuries ago, I used to be human too. Now, I'm a Vampire. A Lycan hunter. 

They call me Death Slayer.

*

Jinyoung lets his gaze sweep across the darkened streets below him. New York's night life has just woken up and the streets are busy, with most of the crowd roaming around aimlessly, looking for some fun. 

Except for three. 

Jinyoung leans forward on his precarious perch at the edge of the skyscraper's roof. Crouched on his heels with one hand holding him in place and a knee supporting his shooting arm, he sways dangerously in the wind but keeps his position. 

His black long coat billows out behind him in the wind, the snug fit of his stretchy black latex suit helps contain his movements. 

Five hundred feet above the ground, he is all but invisible. So are his companions. 

Except that their unnaturally pale faces stand out like glowing lanterns in the night, marking their positions around him, ready for his signal. 

And yet nothing stays hidden from their own eyes.

Jinyoung pushes his hair out of them and waits. His hair has been getting longer, he might have to get someone to cut it for him soon. But he kind of likes it. Apparently, it suits him more than his usual undercut according to Youngjae. He might as well keep it. 

Unlike Lycans who track down and hunt their prey through the sense of smell like the animals they are, Vampires have a more refined way of hunting - preening. Lure the prey in. Their unnatural beauty isn't for mere show, it's one of their most important weapons. 

So are their pheromones, the only thing they have in common with their enemies along with their mutual hatred. Both species use pheromones to find their mates too, though Vampires are less monogamous. 

But unlike Lycans, who are faster and stronger than Vampires in their wolf form and only use their pheromones to mate or communicate with each other during a hunt - preferring to chase their human prey and play with it before they eat - Vampires use their pheromones to lure their human prey in so they can feed and satisfy their bloodlust without making a mess. Feeding has a powerful aphrodisiac effect on both, that could last anywhere between a few hours to a few days. That is where the infamous myth of orgies comes from. Slaves of blood as well as the desires of the flesh. 

That's simply how evolution has worked for either species for centuries. 

Death slayers are trained differently though. Their beauty _is_ , infact, a mere accessory. Unneeded, unused. Their only prey are Lycans not humans, so they feed off of packaged blood and train themselves to be just as good trackers and hunters as them. The lure of human flesh doesn’t affect them at all, unlike normal vampires who have grown to desire the touch and feel of humans - something mortal, destructible, fleeting... _precious_. 

Jinyoung is one of their best. And for good reason. The entire purpose of his immortal existence has been to avenge the deaths of his family, humans massacred by a band of werewolves led by the purebred lycan JiaEr. Jinyoung would have met the same fate, if not for the mercy of the Elder Vampires - Viktor and his younger, half-brother Marcus. 

The latter is another one of Jinyoung's closest friends, currently in deep slumber until the arrival of the third elder Vampire, Amelia, who has ruled the Vampires for the last hundred years. She will be put to sleep during the Awakening ceremony next week and Marcus would be awakened so he can rule the Vampires for a hundred years more until it is time to awaken his older brother, Viktor. Marcus is the one who had protected Jinyoung while he was weakened by grief over the loss of his family and his humanity- his dearest friend, teacher and guardian. 

Jinyoung has grown to hate Lycans with his entire being, despite Marcus' gentle insistence that there is always more to a story than what meets the eye. Jinyoung loves Marcus dearly but this is the one thing he knows he will never understand. His biggest regret has been that JiaEr met his end at the hands of Youngjae and not him. The Vampire second-in-command had presented him with the skin cut off of JiaEr's back as proof of death, embedded with the insignia of the Lycan clan marking him as a purebred who was born a Lycan, not bitten - the only one in existence after William, the original wolf son of Alexander Corvinus. 

One of the advantages of being a thirteen hundred year old vampire and one of their most efficient death slayers should be that you learn to be patient, time should mean nothing but spare change to Jinyoung. And yet, it’s the exact opposite. As if with every passing century, Jinyoung’s impatience with life grows more potent, as if his undead soul is searching for something, something the universe has decreed for him but is just beyond his clutches.

How long does he have to wait? And for what?

Jinyoung hears an impatient _tut_ on his left and turns to glare at his best friend Wonpil, placing a finger on his plush lips condescendingly with a raised brow. 

“As if you aren’t dying to jump too, you hypocrite.” Wonpil hisses back insolently.

“Did you just say ‘ _dying_ ’ Pillie?” Jinyoung chuckles under his breath. Some of the other Death Slayers snicker too.

Wonpil rolls his eyes and sticks his tongue out. “Fuck off, _grandpa_ …” he mumbles. 

He is one of the younger vampires in their coven, only a century old, brought in by Amelia as her new human pet. It was expected that he’d be discarded as soon as she was done playing with him - as was the norm - but to everyone’s surprise Amelia seemed to take a liking to him and turned him into an immortal instead. It raised a few eyebrows but no one dared question an Elder. It wasn't anything new, but there were some laws and protocols to be followed. Apparently, Amelia didn't care.

Jinyoung is charged with protecting Wonpil while Amelia sleeps, in case any of her numerous vampire lovers decide to rebel out of jealousy and hurt him. But so far, it's always been Wonpil watching Jinyoung's reckless back. 

With a history in the military and being a fast learner, Wonpil has quickly become one of their best tactical advisors and Bambam’s eyes and ears on the field. He’s also managed to break past Jinyoung’s cold walls and instill himself as one of his closest friends.

Jinyoung is still smirking when he turns back to the streets and spots them again - the creatures they've been tracking for weeks. His unnaturally sharp eyes narrow down to scan each of their faces and make sure it is them. 

Hackles raised, Jinyoung controls his natural instinct to bare his fangs and hiss. No matter how refined, they are still the natural born enemies of the Lycans and their bodies react instinctively. 

He knows his eyes have turned an icy blue, but he cannot do anything about that. It's an involuntary reaction. He can only try to control it as much as he can before his irises turn completely white and inhuman. 

There are two of them, powerfully built even in their human forms, the female one a little larger than the male - definitely older and more experienced, following another man in a dark blue hoodie - the human. 

Jinyoung can't see the human's face clearly but he knows Wonpil is taking pictures. He can almost taste the blood pumping through the man's veins from his impossible distance. Everytime he's been within Jinyoung's radius for the past week, Jinyoung has had to clench his fists more than once at the unusually attractive fragrance of his blood. 

It sings to him. 

Without warning, as if he's heard Jinyoung's thoughts, the man looks up. 

Jinyoung blinks. 

Impossible. He knows it’s a mere coincidence, human vision cannot reach him at this height and yet, for a moment, his mind seems to play tricks on him as they lock gaze across the impossible barriers of physical laws - like meeting eyes with a character in a pre-recorded video. Inexplicable, like a jolt of static electricity on the skin.

And for that one fleeting moment, as Jinyoung’s bloodlust filled eyes are trapped within the confines of the sharp, narrow eyes of the human, he sees wisdom along with fear. As if the man has ancient secrets buried deep within his soul that he himself knows not. 

This is no ordinary human.

Jinyoung’s immortal heart sutters in excitement. He leans forward even more, curiosity overcoming caution. The human gives a discreet glance behind him, subtle enough for Jinyoung to be sure that he knows he's being followed, and then ducks into the subway entrance. 

This is it. 

Jinyoung turns to nod at Wonpil and without another word, he jumps off the roof to the streets five hundred feet below. His leather coat flutters wildly above him like a cape, almost ready to be ripped off his body from the speed of his fall. 

His team follows. 

Jinyoung lands on his boots with knees bent slightly against the impact with concrete, not a hair out of place. As silent and agile as cats, they make their way towards their targets. Motion control is one of their many useful abilities and creating damage resistant apparel is Bambam’s. Jinyoung has always incurred their Chief Defence Officer’s wrath for more reasons than one. The most significant being, his carelessness about Bambam’s meticulously designed insurgence uniforms. Bambam has had to repair three times as much damage in Jinyoung’s armor than any of the other Death Slayers. The only things Jinyoung seems to treasure are his missions, his weapons and his best friend Wonpil.

Jinyoung pushes his hair out of his eyes again, pulls his hood up and places his hands lightly in his coat pockets, right as the first few drops of rain turn into a heavy shower. 

Let the showdown begin. 

*

Wonpil signals his Death Slayers into position. It's an unspoken rule, Irene takes charge of the rest of the team while Wonpil keeps an eye out for Jinyoung. He has strict orders from Youngjae and they're always the same - make sure Jinyoung is alive, no matter what. They need to be discreet but they also need to stay close. Especially when they're following Jinyoung who has a tendency to be quite reckless sometimes. 

A lot of times. 

Most of the time.

Okay, all the time. 

So much for being their best soldier. It's all natural ability more than discipline in Jinyoung's case, Wonpil believes. As if he was born for this. 

Wonpil sighs as he readies himself for the mission ahead. He whispers an update in his headset and Bambam's voice responds in affirmative. He wishes Bambam was here instead of him. Their CDO is more capable of keeping Jinyoung in check than him. Wonpil is just too soft on him and falls for every trick Jinyoung can come up with to evade any attempt at control. 

It doesn't help when Wonpil is Jinyoung's combat partner and this mission requires them to be at their best tactical advantage. They need the human alive, so they can find out exactly why the Lycans want him. They enter the subway and melt into the incoming crowd of wet raincoats. 

Jinyoung disappears almost immediately. 

Wonpil curses and he could've sworn he heard Bambam laugh into his earpiece. 

"Not funny Bam."

"Just find him Pillie hyung. You're the only one who can keep up with him." Bambam chuckles in response. 

Wonpil curses under his breath again. 

"Nyoung, where are you? I told you to stay close!" he hisses out, so quietly that even the humans rubbing shoulders with him can't hear.

There’s no answering whisper but his senses immediately pick up on Jinyoung's scent, already fifty feet ahead of them. 

Was he even trying to lay low? 

Despite his earlier warnings, he signals to his men to increase their speed too, so they can catch up to Jinyoung.

He's going to break Jinyoung's legs as soon as they get home. The bastard can heal himself anyway. 

*

“Oof!”

“I'm sorry, I'm sorry…” Jaebeom calls back over his shoulder without pausing to check who he bumped into. 

In his hurry to get away from the sinister looking couple following him, he decides to run down a random flight of stairs and emerges at a different platform than he was supposed to.

“Shit…”

Jaebeom turns back again but he can't spot the couple anymore. He’d given up on being discreet as soon as he entered the station, hoping his generic blue hoodie would be enough to help him melt into the evening crowd and throw his stalkers off their track.

He hides behind a thick pillar and takes a long needed breath as he hears a train rumble in and stop on the platform. But he doesn't get on and the train leaves, his body refusing to move out of its weak hiding place. It's the wrong train anyway, his terrified brain supplies. 

The adrenaline rush is only just catching up to him and the after effects are anything but pleasant, as his shivering knees buckle. He falls to the ground and places his head between them to try and calm his racing heart. He glances around the pillar to check again and then leans his head back against it, his eyes closed. He’s sweating buckets and his breath comes out ragged. People walk by without sparing him a glance. If the stalkers find him here, he really hopes someone will help him. The fear and confusion is almost incapacitating, his limbs feel like jelly and he doesn’t think he can ever move again, let alone when his stalkers inevitably catch up to him. 

Stalkers...such a tame word. _Hunters_ would be more appropriate. They move abnormally, gracefully, despite their size - almost animal like, as if they're out hunting for dinner. The woman even more so.

They have been following him ever since he left his evening classes to go home. His medical degree is going to be useless in a fight, how he wishes he’d heeded his best friend's advice and followed him to his martial arts classes at least once a week. He can almost hear Brian sobbing over his dead body, “I _told_ you motherfucker…” Despite his grief, Brian would never give up on the chance to be a know-it-all. 

Jaebeom’s heart clenches painfully. What will happen to Brian, if he were to die at this moment? Neither of them had parents, having grown up in the same orphanage, right here in New York. Despite his constant nagging, Brian is his only family, he will be left with no one to call his own.

That thought alone clears his brain up a little and he berates himself for not seeking help from someone. Ofcourse, there's the high chance of him being considered a drunk or a chain snatcher or even insane - a grown man of twenty six, crying “ _stranger danger_ ”...who would believe him? People might actually end up being scared of _him_. 

Where is a police officer when you need one?

Jaebeom lets out an involuntary yelp as a pale hand suddenly lands on his shoulder out of nowhere. The fingers are long and elegant but the grip is strong. Too strong. 

He closes his eyes for a moment and whispers out a small apology to Brian before looking up, ready to fight tooth and nail for his life.

“Quick, follow me.” whispers the hooded figure to whom the hand belongs.

It’s a command more than a request and Jaebeom finds his body reacting instinctively, but in the wrong way. His normal instinct would have been to throw the stranger off and run as fast as he could in the opposite direction.

But the voice...there’s something about the beautifully dangerous melody of that male’s voice that tells him it is futile. 

That and the metallic flash of a gun that he glimpses through the stranger’s black coat, as he moves a flap aside quite conspicuously so Jaebeom can see. 

He cannot escape even if he tries.

So he allows the stranger to pull him up roughly by his arm and follows without protest, stumbling as they weave through the crowd of clueless pedestrians and further along the platform towards the other end. Fear has made him voiceless, as if one word and his hunters would materialize next to them out of thin air. The stranger’s hand slips down from his upper arm to lace their fingers together tightly, like a couple. Jaebeom winces, his skin tingling from the pressure of such an intimate touch by a foreign hand. 

The stranger's English has a slight accent, not unlike his own - having grown up in mostly Korean speaking foster homes, Jaebeom has never really bothered getting rid of it, unlike Brian who's always been good at adapting and can speak like a native American, even adopting an American name. 

Jaebeom had expected the stranger's hand to be cold considering its paleness, but it’s actually quite warm. Infact, it feels strangely comfortable on his fingers, that are freezing despite the blood rush warming his face and ears. He squeezes back without thinking.

The man stops in his tracks and shudders.

Jaebeom grips the man’s shoulder instinctively with his free hand and moves closer, finding his voice finally.

“Are you okay? We need to keep going…” he whispers hoarsely into the stranger’s ear, looking around nervously to see if he can spot his stalkers. It’s really strange and even more unnerving how they haven’t found him yet.

He turns back around as he feels the grip on his hand grow impossibly tighter and tries to pull away. Without warning, the stranger pulls him back with a jerk, slamming him back against a tiled wall and holding him there by the front of his hoodie.

Jaebeom stops breathing as the stranger pants heavily down his neck, seemingly as incapacitated as he was just a few moments earlier by the pillar. The stranger seems to be fighting with himself over something, his jaw is clenched and the bones are jutting out. Jaebeom can hear low grunts and strange whispers escape the man's lips. What are the odds that this man is actually a psychotic serial killer worse than his stalkers? Why are they all after him today? 

Jaebeom glances around in panic to see if anyone would stop to help, his own throat is swelling up with fear and all he can do is let out tiny, barely audible choking noises as the man pushes his hoodie back a little with the tip of his nose and his warm breath fans across Jaebeom's exposed neck, giving rise to goosebumps all over his body. The crowd on the platform has thinned down to hardly one or two people, who all seem intent on staying as far away as possible from the two men locked in an embrace. They probably think the stranger is about to kiss him, with the intimate way in which his nose is tracing Jaebeom’s jaw from under the hoodie. Jaebeom still hasn’t seen his face.

“Don’t touch me…” the man gasps. 

What? Jaebeom is confused. The man had touched him first, not the other way around. 

“What are you-?” 

“Let...go…”

What the hell? The man is completely crazy, just as he feared. Jaebeom opens his mouth to finally yell for help, but then, one of the man's hands lets go of his collar and moves down to grab his wrist. 

That’s when Jaebeom notices he's holding the stranger's slender waist tight under his coat, with no memory of how it happened. It's as if his body had been acting on its own accord, welcoming the man into his personal space instead of pushing him away. 

He lets go immediately, sucking in a deep breath, his brain going dizzy as it receives its much needed oxygen.

“I...what's happening, I…you...are you okay?” Jaebeom croaks out, his voice breaking from a mixture of fear and...something else. 

Fresh goosebumps continue to erupt all over his body, blood rushing towards all his extremities making him sensitive to every sound, every touch, every ghost of a breath. Even as his body fights with his basic instinct that keeps screaming at him to run. 

The stranger pushes himself further into Jaebeom, his warm breath against Jaebeom's neck preventing the goosebumps from going away. Fresh wave after fresh wave hits his body every other second. Jaebeom distantly notices that the stranger is around his height, just as his fingers trail a long, heated path down Jaebeom's chest to hold his waist in a bruising grip and tug him forward slightly. 

Jaebeom's back arches further to expose the long column of his neck even more and his eyes find the roof of the subway, arms hanging uselessly by his sides. It's the most weak and vulnerable Jaebeom has felt in all his life. Trapped in his own body that refuses to resist. 

Absently, he counts the number of pigeons perched on the horizontal beams above as the stranger noses up and down behind his ear and takes a long, deliberate sniff. 

"Don't move…" the stranger whispers into his ear through a seductive puff of breath. 

A shudder runs through both their bodies at the same time and it's all Jaebeom can do to stop his knees from colliding with the platform again. Despite his extreme fear, the heat in his body is almost unbearable now. The only things still keeping him upright are the stranger's firm grip on his waist, the thump of their hearts beating in sync as he moves in impossibly closer, the push of his knee in between Jaebeom's legs to spread them apart…

Jaebeom closes his eyes and practically shivers from anticipation as the stranger tugs on his waist again and their hips collide, such that Jaebeom can finally feel the man's arousal matching his own. 

Jaebeom's body acts on its own accord and his hips thrust forward involuntarily to chase the much needed friction that their bodies clearly desire. 

Right when he’s about to lose himself in the first touch of soft, wet lips against his neck, and then the graze of something sharper, like a pair of needles…

"Jinyoung!" 

Suddenly, the stranger is gone. 

Jaebeom falls to the ground for the second time and stays there, his eyes fluttering dizzily as he tries to make sense of where he is and what he's supposed to be doing.

"I'm…I'm fine. I'm in control…" he hears the whispered melody from somewhere far away. His body jerks towards it involuntarily, as if his brain has somehow bonded with the stranger's voice. 

"Clearly." comes a sarcastic reply as another black clad figure couches down in front of Jaebeom and lifts his face up, checking his eyes and then his pulse. Even through the haze of confusion, one thing sticks out clearly to Jaebeom - this second stranger has unusually bright icy blue eyes. And he's beautiful. Inhumanly beautiful. 

"Hey, hey, can you hear me? Can you understand me?" the second stranger asks, his voice colored with concern as he tugs at Jaebeom's chin to make him snap out of his reverie. "Jinyoung, for God's sake, look what you've done! You're reeking up the place with your pheromones, go walk it off!" 

"I said I'm fine Wonpil! It-it won't happen again, I-" 

"I'm serious Nyoungie, he's completely out of it and you're not helping! What were you even thinking? Sungjin Hyung found the two dogs looking for him on the next platform! They're too close! We're not out here tonight to feed, what if-" 

A loud boom cuts Wonpil off and debris flies all over the place as a heavy figure collides with the pillar nearest to them. It shakes Jaebeom awake. 

There's quiet for a moment longer as he feels Wonpil crouching protectively over him, but before he can open his mouth to scream like he'd been wanting to do all evening, there's another boom and Wonpil is flying away from him. 

Jaebeom opens his terrified eyes just as menacing growls fill the quiet platform and his heart turns cold from fear. 

And then he hears a long, mournful howl. A wolf's howl. 

A call to hunt. 

*

It is chaos, to say the least, as Wonpil bares his rapidly lengthening fangs at the Lycan snarling back at him. The impact of their collision has catapulted him directly onto the railway tracks with no vision of where the human or Jinyoung could be through the haze of dust. 

As they circle around each other hissing and growling in turn, Wonpil notices that the Lycan is different than the ones they have been following. 

When had they called for backup? How could they know the Death Slayers were tracking them? There is definitely a traitor in their team, he needs to alert Bambam as soon as possible and get him to secure the mansion, protect the elders. 

But first, he has to fight. 

The Lycan seems to read his mind and lunges right as Wonpil pulls out several silver blades and throws them at his enemy at lightning speed. Three of the blades lodge themselves deep into the Lycan's body and the man falters, howling in pain, his body transforming within seconds. 

Wonpil is surprised, to say the least. When did they acquire the ability to transform at such speed without the full moon? There was only one Lycan in history capable of such a transformation...

The answer comes to him with sinister clarity - they've been training. 

Something Lycans have never managed to do ever since the great Lycan leader JiaEr's Uprising and subsequent assassination, centuries ago. Chased underground almost into extinction by Vampire insurgents and living their lives as mere savages, the leftovers - as the vampires liked to call them - have never been smart enough to build an army organized enough to fight back. 

The implications are too blasphemous and farfetched, but he has this gut feeling as he watches the wolf dodging his bullets and moving with almost the same level of agility and tact as a seasoned Death Slayer. Something Lycans aren't known for. He knows Jinyoung and Bambam would be very interested in this new development. 

Wonpil needs to talk to them but there isn't enough time. He can hear the intense fight going on the platform, his ears can detect the exact number of Lycans now fighting his men, but he can't see them with the tunnel wall blocking his vision. Someone must have sealed the stairs because he cannot detect any human screams. The platform had been almost deserted with the last train of the night already leaving several minutes ago. At least there will be less collateral damage. 

The Lycan in front of him is in its wolf form now, it's going to take a lot more than silver poisoning to take him down without backup. 

Wonpil flips backwards just as the wolf makes another attempt to claw at him and whips out his gun, shooting several rounds of silver bullets at the wolf, most of which it manages to dodge because of its superior speed. Wonpil keeps shooting, moving back as the wolf keeps closing the distance between them. But the wolf's bulk is still against it and two bullets lodge themselves deep into its meaty leg. It howls in rage as Wonpil empties the last of his bullets. 

He is backed up against the tunnel wall now, waiting for the wolf to approach him. He wishes more than ever that Jinyoung was with him. They are combat partners, the very best, working together like two bodies and one soul. He prays desperately that Jinyoung at least has backup. 

Jinyoung…his best friend, his family, that reckless piece of shit. 

Wonpil reloads his gun quickly and fires another round. The only other weapon Wonpil has left is his silver dagger. He needs backup desperately. For centuries there have been at least a dozen Vampires to every Lycan, the ratio has never been balanced in favor of the wolves.

And yet tonight has been a night full of surprises, they've never encountered so many Lycans at once before, not since JiaEr's Uprising. How had they managed to breed right under the Death Slayers' noses? 

The answers will have to wait. Wonpil crouches down and hisses in shock as the Lycan transforms back into its human form. 

What the hell is happening? 

"Wrong move mutt." Wonpil smirks, gripping his dagger tight, ready to jump. 

But just then, he hears movement behind him and he whips around before he can stop himself, fangs out, snarling at a figure standing on the tracks fifty feet away, watching him calmly. A very familiar figure, now that he thinks about it. Jinyoung would call him a nerd but he has read enough to know who the hell he is facing. 

No, no it can't be him. Wonpil must be hallucinating. It's impossible. 

And then the figure raises its arm and fires its gun at Wonpil, just once.

Wonpil feels the sharp sting on his chest but doesn't pay much attention. Bullets don't kill Vampires, they can heal pretty quickly. What he needs right now is for Jinyoung and Sungjin to come tell him he is not seeing things. 

But the sting is quickly turning into pain, a burn spreading outwards from his chest to the other areas of his body, until Wonpil is down on the ground, his body overcome with seizures due to the sheer agony. 

The Lycans loom over him, watching him convulse while his life seeps out of him slowly, torturously. 

As his vision blacks out, Wonpil's last thoughts are only of Sungjin, and how he didn't even have time to say goodbye.

*

Jaebeom watches the guy named Wonpil fly off the platform and onto the railway tracks as a large, gruff man barrels into him, both of them immediately rolling out of sight further into the tunnel. 

He can hear gunshots, growls and snarls. He sees the hooded stranger from before, Jinyoung, try to follow Wonpil into the tunnel but he immediately gets tackled by another large man, whom Jaebeom recognizes with a rapidly sinking heart as one of his stalkers. 

He can still feel Jinyoung's breath against his throat, the whisper in his ear. He makes several attempts to get up but falls down each time. There's something in the air, lingering from before, not exactly a scent but more like an aura, that keeps him falling to the ground again and again in submission, still obeying Jinyoung's command, even as his attention is caught elsewhere. 

Suddenly, he hears a high pitched scream. A human scream. And his body jerks to attention despite his condition. 

Another scream and Jaebeom is on his feet, fighting desperately against his invisible shackles to run across the platform back towards the stairs. 

As he weaves through the group of fighters who seem too distracted with each other to pay him any attention, he spots a woman lying on the ground at the bottom of the stairs, apparently knocked down while trying to escape. Jaebeom skids to a halt, falling to his knees as he does and groans at the gaping wound in her left thigh, the flesh looks like it's been gouged out with a giant claw. It's not deep, as if she merely got in the way of the assaulter and his actual target. But it's deep enough to warrant emergency care. 

"It's okay, you're gonna be okay, I'm a doctor..” he pants. “Just keep taking deep breaths while I patch you up…don't lose consciousness on me okay, try to stay awake...it's not that bad…" 

He tries to reassure his own racing heart as much as the sobbing woman and quickly pulls up the hem of his hoodie, grabbing a piece of shrapnel from the floor to rip a long strip from his undershirt. He then proceeds to bandage her wound, taking longer than he normally would because of the unceasing trembling of his hands. No amount of medical training could ever prepare him for what he’s seen and felt tonight. When he's done, he helps her to her feet, carrying most of her weight on his own shivering knees. 

"Please…please…I can't walk…" the woman sobs as they climb up the stairs slowly. Jaebeom tries to ignore her cries alongwith his own panic, so he wouldn't simply abandon the woman and run for dear life. 

Lucky for him, the woman is quite petite, but the top stair is a long way up. Jaebeom pauses to catch his breath after a dozen steps or so and turns back to take another look at the fight going on below. If any of the ferocious beasts spot them, they're as good as dead. 

Jaebeom's searching eyes find his hooded stranger again, right as Jinyoung's opponent grabs at his face to fend off the tight grip on his neck, and the hood falls... 

If Jaebeom wasn't scared out of his wits trying to escape with an injured woman, he knows he would have made his way back down to get a good, long look at Jinyoung's snarling face. His icy blue eyes, his unusually pale face contorted in rage and… 

his fangs… 

Time slows down or Jaebeom's brain cells decide to stop working. Even as he watches Jinyoung let out another angry snarl and bury his teeth (fangs?) into his opponent-turned-victim's neck, making him thrash under him desperately and pitifully with a loud, inhuman howl, Jaebeom's body twitches involuntarily, a sudden longing to be as near to Jinyoung as possible clouding his sanity. 

Words fail him…"beautiful", "ethereal", "glorious", "dangerous", "evil"...“monster”... - no word is strong enough to describe Jinyoung, even as he bares his bloodied fangs at his next opponent and glares at him through his venomous eyes, shooting his gun while skillfully dodging his opponent's bullets at the same time, using his now dead victim as shield. His body seems to be embedded with springs, his movements so fluid and effortless that it seems more like a dance than a fight. 

Jaebeom can't look away. 

"Doctor...please…" the woman hanging on to him pleads, moaning in pain and fear. Jaebeom snaps himself out of his trance. 

Right. Priorities. Focus Jaebeom, you're supposed to be in survival mode! 

He rips his eyes away from Jinyoung unwillingly and forces his way up the stairs again, the woman almost a dead weight on his arm now. Away from Jinyoung.

He wants to murder himself for the hope that crosses his muddled brain. That somehow, someplace, someday, Jinyoung will find him again. 

*

Jinyoung spits the piece of Lycan flesh from his mouth and watches his prey run off into the tunnel on all fours, the wolf's body is riddled with silver bullets and dying, yet still desperate for survival. He follows, hoping to join forces with Wonpil so they can track the injured Lycan back to its lair together. 

Despite its grievous injuries, the Lycan is faster than him, so by the time Jinyoung reaches the darkest part of the tunnel, he can hear only faint sounds of its whimpers as it runs. Strangely, he can't hear Wonpil or the Lycan he'd been fighting. He decides to track their scent. He knows it's hard to kill a Lycan on his own, but Wonpil is more than a match for any of these mutts who attacked them. 

Jinyoung has so many questions about this attack. It's strange, to say the least, to have so many Lycans attack in such a coordinated manner. And all for a seemingly unremarkable human. Was it a simple sport created out of boredom to rile the Death Slayers? Couldn't be, this was too organized. All of this effort for a mere kamikaze mission? How did they even know the number of vampires tracking them? Who has betrayed them? 

And their weapons. They all have guns, but no bullets could actually take down a Vampire, maybe slow them down for a bit if they were fast enough to hit them. But some of them - only a few of the more older looking Lycans - seemed to have a completely different set of guns. Jinyoung has never seen bullets like these before - filled with an electric blue liquid. He has an inkling as to what it could be but he prays that he's wrong. 

Or else, they're doomed. 

So far, his men have been able to avoid getting hit by any of these new bullets, but Jinyoung needs to find out exactly how these savages have managed to create such a highly advanced weapon and to what purpose. 

He can hear the last of the Lycans running away and his men whooping in victory behind him. His earpiece was blown away early on into the fight as a blue bullet missed his ear by inches, so he can't really contact Bambam and let him know that their target has escaped, both human and Lycan. 

They cannot go back empty handed. They need to find this undetected Lycan clan and wipe them out before it grows even larger. 

Where is Wonpil? 

Suddenly, mid run, Jinyoung spies a figure lying prone on the tracks just a few feet ahead of him. Lost in his thoughts, his senses hadn't noticed it until now. He slows down, his heart racing as an ominous feeling bears down upon it heavily. 

"Pil?" 

No answer. But he knows it's Wonpil, even as he ignores the realization dawning heavily on his heart just like he ignores the scent of burnt flesh mixed with Wonpil's usual aura. 

"Pil, we need to follow the mutt before we lose him, let's go." he says with forced calm. 

Still no answer. 

Finally, Jinyoung approaches the figure. 

He takes a deep breath and looks down upon his best friend. 

Or what's left of him. 

Jinyoung's throat clenches tight and so does his jaw. It's with extreme difficulty that he manages not to let out the blood curdling wail that is waiting to escape his constricted lungs. 

He takes off his long coat and bends down slowly, lifting Wonpil's charred body up in his arms, careful not to let it disintegrate too much before wrapping it up in his long coat. 

Wonpil will lie within the mansion premises, just like the Elders. Jinyoung will not leave him here, abandoned and forgotten. 

"Sungjin Hyung. Find us." Jinyoung calls in an unstable octave. 

"I'm coming." Sungjin answers from somewhere on the platform, probably sending off the last of the Death Slayers home to re-organize.

And then Jinyoung's off again, following the Lycan's scent as he can no longer hear him. 

He knows it's heartless to let Sungjin find Wonpil on his own, but he can't bring himself to stay and watch, to hear the agonized cries that are sure to follow when Sungjin realizes that Wonpil is...he can't think the word out loud, not even to himself. If he does, it'll become real and he will lose his best friend all over again. 

All he needs to do now is find the Lycan, trace it back to its coven, cut down every single one of them and then, only then, will he go back home. He will find Sungjin and Wonpil wrapped around each other on the couch as usual, berating him for his recklessness at going alone, but forgiving him nevertheless. 

And this night would never have happened. 

Jinyoung stops next to an alcove in the tunnel wall and strains his ears. He hears it again. Growls and voices, seeping out of a sewer lid in the ground. 

Hundreds of them. 

How? How could the Death Slayers have been so blind? Someone on the inside has definitely been feeding the vampires incomplete information. Misleading them deliberately so they'd keep underestimating the Lycans' numbers. In fact, Jinyoung realizes, they wouldn't even have found out about the Lycans' unusual interest in the human if Jinyoung and Wonpil hadn't gone against Youngjae’s orders and followed their gut to lay down a trace. Jinyoung needs to find the mole and let Youngjae know as soon as possible.

Is it Bambam? No, Jinyoung has known Bambam for centuries, he would never betray them. It has to be someone either completely new or someone too powerful and well connected to be cornered.

Jinyoung hopes it's the former. Because if it's the latter, he doesn't think his coven will survive the consequences. 

*

"Fight, fight, fight, fight!" the Lycans chant sloshing beer everywhere as two of their brothers grapple with each other, both in their wolf forms - ferocious and deadly.

It's their most carnal self, when the human part of their brain loses complete control, the complexity of their emotions dumbed down to one single feeling, desire - desire to kill or desire to mate. Sometimes both at the same time. 

The original Lycans had been different, smaller in size, more agile, more in control, more refined - slaves of the vampires. 

But now, centuries of freedom and being pursued by Vampires has turned them into savage beasts, never able to live in one place long enough to think about anything more than survival, to think about building a future, to think of art and culture and self governance, of growth and development, of civilization, like the vampires had. 

All except one. 

The only one who has the rare ability to control his own transformations as well as the minds of the Alpha Lycans in their wolf forms. And he's been training them to do the same. Reforming the beasts into an army. 

Jackson Wang. 

He seems to be one of the only few who resemble the Vampires and the old wolves of yore in any manner or speech, if not form. Speaking in a low, articulate way that rings through the beasts' feral growls, spending his time pouring over books of history and medicine or shut up in a laboratory with Yugyeom, his second in command and leader of the pack. He never uses his Alpha voice, no matter how big the provocation, yet his aura inspires enough fear to calm the minds of even the most savage beast. 

The Supreme Alpha. 

"Enough."

As if pulled by invisible strings, the two beasts spring apart immediately, trembling as either of them freeze in the middle of an attack, claws out, canines bared, breathing heavily with loud rasps. 

Slowly, grudgingly, their bodies shrink back to their human forms as the other Lycans step away from them slowly, as if afraid of being swept up in their punishment. 

The Lycans step even further away from the two offenders in the centre as Jackson walks slowly towards them. 

"My brothers..." Jackson continues, placing a hand each on the offenders' shoulders. "Here I am, trying to find a place for us amongst civilization, trying to restore our coven to its previous glory, trying to build a future for Lycans in this world…while you all insist on acting like a pack of rabid dogs…"

They don’t like it, he can see that. But he knows how to win.

"What glory?" comes a scared but determined growl from the crowd. "We have always been either slaves or refugees of war. We have never seen it outside of history books, what is this glory you speak of?" 

Jackson looks into the trembling eyes of the speaker with calm. He can taste the fear in the Lycan's aura. 

"The days of glory that you only read of in history books, young wolf, are the days I have lived and seen with my own eyes. The uprising of JiaEr, I'm sure you're aware…"

"Most of us weren't even born then." the Lycan says again, weak but defiant. "All we have is your word."

"And what of Yugyeom's word?" Jackson returns, still the picture of serenity. 

"You have the ability to control Alphas and bed them, he has been taken in by your charms, anyone can see-" But the Lycan is instantly interrupted by loud growls and he looks around in fear as the other Lycans turn on him instead, bristling with anger. They will not hear a word against Yugyeom, not even from one of their own.

Jackson is counting on it.

"How dare you! How dare you speak of the Alpha so insolently you filthy mutt!" growls the one nearest to him. 

A ripple of fear moves through the entire coven alongwith the offender. Calling a Lycan "mutt" or any such word that degrades the dignity of their wolves is expressly forbidden. 

"Tsk, tsk, this won't do…" Jackson speaks in affected concern. "Speaking against the Alpha and using the forbidden word…"

"Must we punish them?" Yugyeom asks from behind him.

As soon as he enters the room, Jackson can feel the Lycans relax. Yugyeom is their pack Alpha, their elected leader, someone they trust with their lives.

Jackson can understand the hesitation behind Yugyeom’s question. Though the Lycan had practically insulted him by questioning his judgment on trusting Jackson, Yugyeom was prone to lead by example rather than force. One of the reasons why it had been so easy to get him to fall for Jackson's charms. He was too trusting of the good in his wolves. He desired a world where werewolves could rub shoulders with humans and vampires as equals, not hide and procreate in hiding like savage beasts. 

Jackson eyes the Lycans gathered around, watching his every move with a mixture of fear and distrust. 

"They're yours to deal with Alpha." says Jackson. 

He can feel the room relax further. But he knows what he's doing. 

This isn't his pack. This is Yugyeom's pack. They don't know him, Jackson, they know Yugyeom, their Alpha. They only believe in his dream for a glorious future for them, of civilization because they believe in Yugyeom's loyalty to him. 

It was simple. One day, Yugyeom left for a hunt and came back with Jackson, declaring him as the Supreme Alpha. The clan followed him without a word. He's the one who has kept them alive for so long after all. While Jackson dealt with his own death for centuries. 

"Put him down." says Yugyeom. 

The pack looks back at him in fear and confusion as he eyes the offender with uncharacteristic coldness. 

"I will not hear any of you speak ill of the Supreme Alpha. He's my Alpha. Going against him is going against me. And the penalty for treason can only be death."

Jackson smiles a secret smile - You're doing so well, my little pet. 

Yugyeom sends the offender off with a couple of his sentinels. Jackson doesn't interfere. Yugyeom has shown implicit trust in him since the beginning, falling down to his knees in submission and reverence, letting Jackson bond with his wolf without question. 

"Come. Let us wait for Kai to bring back good news." says Jackson, holding out a hand. 

Yugyeom takes it without question and makes to move towards the laboratory that is their usual haunt, but finds himself being led to their shared chambers instead. 

"You deserve a break." Jackson smiles, pulling the taller Alpha closer in a gentle embrace. 

Yugyeom melts into him. 

“I just broke my most sacred vow..” 

Jackson can almost feel the tears starting to form in Yugyeom’s eyes.

“It’s alright my little pup.” Jackson soothes, reaching up to stroke his hair gently. “Every revolution requires a few sacrifices. We must weed out the weak links.”

Yugyeom doesn’t answer but Jackson knows he’s got him.

*

Jinyoung's ear pricks to the left of the tunnel. The sounds of growling and fighting have stopped now, replaced by a low murmur. They beasts are talking or holding a conference. Jinyoung can't tell. 

He follows the murmurs as quietly as he can, until he hears a tiny sound behind him. So faint, that he wouldn't have picked it up at all if he wasn't raised on suspicion and stealth as a Death Slayer. 

He rolls to his side just as a giant beast leaps at him from the top of the tunnel. 

The wolf has found him. And what's more, it seems to have healed quite a bit too. It's definitely slower and Jinyoung can smell the blood still oozing from the wounds being kept open by his silver bullets, but its body seems to be strong enough to resist succumbing to the silver poisoning spreading through its veins. Or maybe, it's hide is thick enough to keep its circulation system unreached. 

Jinyoung curses under his breath. 

Silver bullets aren't infallible, they do have their cons, and right now Jinyoung is painfully aware of this fact as he dodges yet another attack. With his luck, this wolf would probably kill him and get away with a simple rash on its skin from all the silver embedded in it. Permanent yet survivable. With all their immortality and advanced technology, one would think the vampires would have time enough to figure out better weapons against the Lycans by now, Jinyoung thinks bitterly. 

In the absence of any significant resistance from the Lycans in over ten centuries, the Vampires have become lazy, complacent to the point of rust, spending their time only in enjoying art or sex or feeding - not in that particular order and sometimes all three at once. Jinyoung was no virgin saint, Lord knows he'd participated in enough orgies to get over his bloodlust - it was inevitable as a newborn vampire. 

But he can't erase the picture of Wonpil's body from his mind, it was sure to haunt him for all eternity. 

Jinyoung jumps up and clings to the roof of the tunnel with the claws on his left hand, the gun in his right hand pointed at the wolf straightening itself after crashing into the wall where Jinyoung had been crouching just seconds ago. 

This is it, his opening. 

But as soon as Jinyoung aims his gun at the beast's head, there's a loud explosion right next to him and the tunnel collapses, taking him down along with the beast to the level below. 

It hurts. 

As the dust settles around him, Jinyoung gathers his strength once again, the left side of his face sticky with blood and stinging with intense pain. In fact, his entire left side is throbbing as he winces and digs himself out of the giant blocks of stone. 

He can't hear the Lycan anymore but the beasts are strong, especially when they're transformed. If he survived the crash, so did his big, bad wolf. 

Finally, he turns over the last slab of stone, weighing at least a tonne, and blinks around. He's in a cave and it is pitch black, but his night vision is good so he scans the walls for any signs of the wolf. He can't hear it, or smell its aura anymore. Strange. 

And then he hears it. The sound of bullets, slowly getting nearer. A sound he can recognize even in his sleep. 

Death Slayers. Sungjin has found him. 

*

For days on end, all the vampires in the mansion can hear are Sungjin's cries of pain as he grieves for his mate. Jinyoung doesn't leave his room either, refusing to feed, going through the last set of photos Wonpil clicked and researching hours on end to find out more about the UV bullet Bambam has recovered from Wonpil's body. He doesn't even have time to grieve his best friend properly due to his obsession with finding out as much as he can about the human and his connection to the Underworld. 

He’s managed to trace the wolves back to their packs and two names keep cropping up again and again - Lim Jaebeom and the Lycan Alpha, Kim Yugyeom. 

But there's a strong feeling in the pit of his stomach that tells him there's someone else, the last piece to the puzzle, hidden in the shadows just beyond reach, mocking them with their very existence. 

Jinyoung can feel the answer staring at him right in the face but he can't seem to connect the dots. 

"Who are you…?" he whispers, his eyes locked on the dark abyss of Lim Jaebeom's gaze looking straight through the camera and into his soul. 

*

Jaebeom is still shaken as he makes his way to his shift at the hospital next morning. He barely even registers the greeting his fellow interns call out as he enters the locker room to change. 

"Hey Beom, you okay man?" a hand falls on his shoulder and he turns around to find a very concerned Brian searching his face. 

"What? Yeah..yeah, I'm fine." he stammers, barely ripping himself away from his thoughts to understand the question. "Missed my train home last night, had to get a cab."

Oh how he regrets not leaving the library earlier…

“Fuck, I’m glad though. Apparently there was some gang incident at the subway last night, guns involved and everything, left quite a bit of damage. But the police said no one’s hurt so…”

Jaebeom tunes out the rest of it. No one hurt? Are the police covering up the casualties or did Jaebeom’s sleep deprived brain make it all up? What about the woman he left at the hospital? He can't bring himself to tell Brian about last night now. He can't have his best friend questioning his sanity right before an important audit. 

There is something too, a certain power that is holding him back from spilling the truth of what he's seen. And that something has definitely something to do with a certain someone named Jinyoung. 

That dangerously beautiful face and those blue eyes, against the screams and growls of creatures straight out of the horror mangas he loves to read…they haunt him. There's no doubt in his mind that he's going to see Jinyoung again, whether it would be completely involuntary, he doesn't know. There is a strange yearning in his body to be near the man, to know more about him, as if they're connected somehow. As if their eyes had met for the first time but their souls have known each other for a lifetime. 

"Jinyoung.." he whispers to himself. 

What a beautiful name.

*

"Hyung, you need to feed."

Jinyoung ignores the younger man like he's been doing for the past half hour with no uncertain amount of guilt. He knows Youngjae's worried, he would be worried too in his place, but he owes it to Wonpil to find out everything he can. This time, the Lycans have made it personal. 

"What are you even searching for? Let me help, you know Amelia's coming for the Awakening ceremony tomorrow!"

"Youngjae please stop bugging me." Jinyoung mutters in a low monotone and Youngjae lets out a frustrated groan. 

"Jinyoung, look at me!" he says, finally giving up on being civil and turning Jinyoung's chair around to lean down on the arms, caging him in so he's forced to meet his eyes. 

"I want to find out what's happening too, but for that I need focus and I can't do that with you starving yourself like this. We're supposed to lead them, comfort the others, reassure them, but it feels like I'm doing everything alone, I need you by my side."

"If you want me to be on your side, try being on mine for once! Give me free reign, let me have the men I want!" Jinyoung bites back. 

"You know I can't do that." Youngjae says, bringing a palm up to Jinyoung's cheek, his eyes softening again in a way only reserved for Jinyoung. Jinyoung tries to look away but Youngjae grips his chin firmly. "We need every gun on deck for Amelia's protection. And when Mark wakes up, he's going to want to see you immediately. If I don't bring you to him safe and alive, he will have my head, you know that."

Jinyoung bites his lip in frustration. He hates to admit it but Youngjae's right. Everyone in the mansion knows that the first thing Mark will do on waking up is ask for Jinyoung, his closest confidante and protège. If he doesn't see Jinyoung, he might end up murdering everyone within sight. Jinyoung can't have the blood of innocent (in a fashion) vampires on his hands. 

"So like it or not, you have to be here for the Awakening. I can make it worth your while." Youngjae smiles. 

"How? Do you perhaps have Lim Jaebeom hiding under your coat?" 

"As arousing as that notion is, I have something even better." Youngjae smirks. 

"What is it?" Jinyoung asks, immediately intrigued. 

"It's about the UV bullet we found on Wonpil. I'm gonna need you to put your faith in me and only me, understand?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" 

"It means, you can't tell Bambam what I tell you. Deal?" 

"No deal. You know we can't keep Bam out of something like this, he's the chief of defense for God's sake!" Jinyoung says angrily. 

Youngjae however, remains calm. 

"He's good at what he does, he'll figure it out on his own, in time. But things have been set into motion and I need you by my side." Youngjae caresses Jinyoung’s cheek again gently and searches his face with eyes filled with yearning.

"Jae, what's going on? What is it you know that we don't? Do the elders know too?" Jinyoung asks stubbornly. 

"I'm going to need your word first Jinyoung. That you won't go looking for this Lim guy." Youngjae says, leaning further in so their lips are barely touching. 

Jinyoung knows what he's doing. He hasn't fed in a while and his bloodlust has rendered him weak willed and vulnerable. His eyes are back to being an icy blue again, almost white, a sure indication that he’s at the very edge of the precipice and his thirst might push him away from the weak tether of self control any minute. 

He can't really blame Youngjae though, he's taken advantage of him more times than he can count - going on dangerous missions when he’d been expressly forbidden from doing so, leaving Youngjae to deal with the aftermath of his rebellion alone. He knows Marcus will squeeze all information out of Youngjae the moment he wakes up and he also knows that it’s Youngjae who will bear his wrath. He does feel guilty but not too much. 

There’s something about Youngjae that makes his hair stand on end, whenever the vampire knight appears without a warning. Some aura of danger that makes Jinyoung step back unconsciously whenever Youngjae looks at him in anger after his latest bit of insolence. A hidden power, something that Youngjae is either himself unaware of or desperately tries to subdue. It makes Jinyoung wary of him where others follow his lead blindly. Vampires like peace as much as any other creatures, they prefer to while away their immortal lives partying and feeding and making love, enjoying the beauty that the world has to offer. 

There’s no guilt, no sense of obligation for the betterment of mankind. Humans, afterall, are responsible for the existence of Vampires being forced to remain a secret for centuries - weapons of mass destruction and sunlight, their biggest enemies. There’s a herd mentality, just like werewolves, where they’d rather choose a leader who’s capable of supporting their complacent ways than someone who’d stir up chaos. 

That’s where Youngjae comes in, he’s a diplomat rather than a fighter. He doesn’t need to, when he has the Death Slayers under his command. But Jinyoung has an inkling that it’s all a facade. The great Blood Knight who single handedly defeated the Lycan leader, JiaEr and showed up with a piece of his marked and bloodied skin clasped tightly in his hand…there is no way Jinyoung will believe that he can’t fight. Although, no one except Marcus and Viktor know exactly how he did it either.

There are many Vampire covens spread around the world, living their secret lives during the day and coming out only at night. The elders have left Youngjae as their second-in-command, to manage the largest coven of them all, the one Jinyoung belongs to, the one charged with protecting the Elders' immortal remains until it is time to wake them up turn by turn so they can each rule for the next hundred years. 

Youngjae is also Jinyoung's partner. Not his mate, but someone chosen by Viktor himself, to lean on during the times he loses control due to recklessness. 

Jinyoung knows Youngjae wants more, but Youngjae knows too that Jinyoung can't give it to him, even if he wanted to. He belongs to Viktor, everyone knows that. No one knows why an Elder decided to choose a permanent mate when there's no limitation of monogamy in Vampire law, but Viktor had made the announcement the very day he'd turned Jinyoung thirteen centuries ago. It had been delayed for this long so Jinyoung could learn and prove himself worthy of such an honor in the eyes of the vampires who questioned Viktor's bold decision. 

It still doesn't stop Youngjae from trying. He is handsome, powerful, wise, respected, a leader, one of the oldest Vampires after the Elders and the most eligible bachelors amongst all covens combined. His name is in their history books. Yet he has decided to set his heart upon winning Jinyoung and nothing Jinyoung says or does seems to budge him. 

Jinyoung does love him, in a way, but it's not enough for either of them. Right now, it's nothing short of frustrating for Jinyoung as he feels the invisible cage around him shrink even further. If Youngjae commands him to stay in his room until the awakening, there's nothing Jinyoung can do. Youngjae has the power of compulsion and he's not afraid to use it. It's one of the things that's helped him control the volatile nature of Vampires for so long. 

"You know I can't promise what you're asking." Jinyoung whispers against Youngjae's lips. "But I promise I'll be careful and I'll be in time for the Awakening."

"Jin-"

But Jinyoung cuts Youngjae off by pressing their lips together. 

It has the desired effect. Youngjae is stunned into silence as Jinyoung pulls away. 

"Do you trust me?" Jinyoung asks, holding on to Youngjae's collar firmly as he searchers for the truth in his eyes rather than his tongue. 

Youngjae caresses his face gently once more, looking for answers of his own behind Jinyoung's question, leaden with a meaning deeper than his words. 

"Ofcourse I do." he whispers. 

Jinyoung smiles for the first time in weeks.

*

**Author's Note:**

> ************************************
> 
> Heavily inspired by 
> 
> "The Underworld" movie series
> 
> ***************************************
> 
> Please let me know your thoughts in the comments, they help a lot! 💚


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